"Keep parents as far from the schools as possible"

That philosophy may soon be represented on the State Board of Education (SBOE). Two seats on the SBOE changed hands Tuesday as a result of the GOP primary election. In District 12, which includes north Dallas, Richardson and Plano, the challenger George Clayton beat long-time SBOE member, social conservative Geraldine "Tincy" Miller. In District 12, which includes northern Collin County and counties east of Dallas all the way down to Bryan, challenger Thomas Ratliff beat former SBOE chairman, young-Earth Creationist Don McLeroy.

Tincy Miller has been on the SBOE since 1984. She is a social conservative whose viewpoints have gradually come to be considered moderate as the SBOE has veered farther and farther right. Don McLeroy is leader of the far-right conservative faction on the SBOE who favored science standards that discredit evolution and social studies standards that promote his belief of America as a Christian nation.

After the jump, some lessons from the election results.

Races I've Been Watching

It's primary election night in Texas. I've been watching a few races. The polls are still open, but some of the results appear clear already.

After the jump, my last prognostications before the results are announced.

Only God Can Make A Tree

Heights Park

Well, God and Richardson City Council member Amir Omar. Omar revealed his long-teased secret project at Monday night's Richardson City Council meeting. "'Tree the Town' is a progressive tree planting initiative with the goal of adding 50,000 trees to Richardson."

You might think planting trees is a no-brainer. After the jump, let's look at the spectrum of reactions.

Early Spring In The Steger Garden (2010)

From Flowers

Striking A Blow Against Ill-Informed Pedantry

Steve Blow of The Dallas Morning News writes about Bryan Garner, Dallas resident and author of many books on grammar and linguistics. (If you can state the distinction between those two words, you're more of a language expert than I am.)

After the jump, how Garner the grammar man puts down Steve Blow's "ill-informed pedantry."

Amir Omar, Public Policy Tease

This week, Richardson City Council member Amir Omar has been teasing those who follow his Twitter feed with promises of great things for Richardson soon to be revealed.

"7 days till the presentation of the signature project I've been teasing! Hundreds of hrs of work finally revealed!"

"Just landed my 3rd Corp Sponsor for the project I've been working on! March 1st council meeting it will all be made public!"

After the jump, why I'm not holding my breath.

On May 8, Vote Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes

Monday night was open mike night at the Richardson City Council meeting and visitors were lined up to speak to the proposed $66 million bond package that the city council later unanimously agreed to place before the voters on May 8. Of the total, $25 million is for streets, alleys, sidewalks and creeks, $23 million is for parks and recreation, $10 million is for municipal buildings and $8 million is for neighborhood vitality projects such as screening walls, landscaping and entry features. Voters will be able to choose to support and/or reject each bond proposition separately.

After the jump, what the visitors who spoke had to say about it all.

"Best Use of Negative/Contrast" - The Envelope Please

Remember the infamous "Voters Guide" in the 2009 Richardson City Council election, a product of the Richardson Coalition PAC and the political consulting firm of Murphy Turner Associates? Murphy Turner is the proud winner of the 2009 "Pollie Award" for "Best Use of Negative/Contrast"? (I don't know which is more surprising, that such an award exists, or that a firm would be proud to win it.)

After the jump, Murphy Turner Associates' involvement with yet another "Voters Guide," this one in Tarrant County.

Avoid Trivia

George F. Kennan, 1904-2005, American advisor, diplomat, political scientist and historian, whose writings inspired the American foreign policy of communist containment that governed American foreign policy for a half century, headed a State Department "think tank" under Secretary of State George C. Marshall. Kennan credits Marshall, who hired him to constantly reappraise America's grand strategy in the world, with giving him the best advice of his career:

"Avoid trivia."

Great advice. Contrast it with this blog, which at its best can only dredge up old quotes, historical trivia if you will, as food for thought. Sigh.

After the jump, another principle that guided Kennan in his thinking of how to apply American power in the post-war world.

CCI: How Google Failed Me

"I will kill you, CCI." With just 20 characters (Twitter allowed him a generous 140), Ian McCann of The Dallas Morning News (@imccanntx) sent me scrambling to Google to figure out just WTF he was mad about. Here are the possibilities. Your guess is as good as mine.

• Clinton Climate Initiative: Mad at the weather? No one has cabin fever that bad.
• Canine Companions for Independence: Mad at his guide dog? Say it ain't so, Ian.
• California Criminalistics Institute: You'd think they might be after Ian, not the other way around.
• Custom Chrome, Inc.: I just can't picture Ian shooting up his tricked out Harley.
• Component Concepts, Inc.: Maybe this "quality paintball maker" sent Ian got a defective batch.
• CCI Ammunition: Another gun association. What's with the letters CCI anyway?
• Center for Collective Intelligence: On Twitter? Who are we kidding?

I don't often say this, but this time Google failed me. Help me out someone. What's the CCI that Ian McCann wants to kill?